


Serendipity

by redlipstickblackdress



Series: Three Roses [2]
Category: Spider-Man - All Media Types, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Angst, Baking, Drinking, F/M, Mild Sexual Content, Mugging, Romance, Sequel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-10-10
Updated: 2013-10-10
Packaged: 2017-12-29 00:58:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 27
Words: 13,591
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/998968
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/redlipstickblackdress/pseuds/redlipstickblackdress
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In this sequel to Three Roses, Clint's and Thor's pasts come back to cause difficulty in their relationships.  Clint's ex, Natasha, sets her sights on him again and he lets her stay at his apartment, causing Lacey to feel insecure.  Meanwhile, Thor sees Jane again and becomes confused about his feelings.  While he stays in New Mexico to sort them out, Gwen meets the sweet Peter Parker and begins dating him.  Can Thor get her back when he realizes his mistake?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. At Three Roses

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry this sequel took so long! This story was a challenge for me, but I hope you like it anyway!

Lacey walked into her favorite bar, Three Roses, to visit her boyfriend Clint. He made her a Moscow mule and put the copper mug in front of her without even having to be asked. Clint didn’t need to bartend; he didn’t need the money, he just liked doing it. His previous job as an archer for a secret organization called S.H.I.E.L.D. had more than provided for him, but bartending gave him something fun to do and a way to meet people. 

When Clint had set her favorite drink down in front of her, he leaned forward to give Lacey a quick kiss on the lips. A couple of girls who had been eyeing Clint’s fantastic biceps looked dejected when they saw this. Clint’s bartending uniform was just a vest and a bow tie, and his archer arms definitely attracted a lot of women while he was on the job, but Lacey trusted him and tried not to get too jealous most of the time.

The girls’ attention was now drawn by a new man who walked into the bar. He was enormous with rippling muscles, longish blond hair, and a wonderful smile. His presence filled the room as soon as he appeared. The girls perked up, thinking their night out wasn’t completely hopeless, when out from behind this gorgeous man stepped a girl with curly red hair. The girls turned around again; this golden-haired man wasn’t up for grabs either. 

Thor and his girlfriend Gwen sat down at the bar and ordered a couple of beers and Lacey and her best friend began chatting. The two girls looked like complete opposites, it was almost unbelievable that they were best friends. Lacey was wearing a vintage dress with red lipstick and a matching flower in her shoulder-length brown hair while Gwen sported a black leather miniskirt and a red low-cut shirt. However, they were as close as any best friends could be. A man sat down to Lacey and smiled at her.

“Hey. Can I buy you a drink, or should we just go ahead and go to my place?”

“Oh, I’m sorry, I’m gay,” she said. 

“Oh, you’re into girls? That’s kinda hot,” the guy answered.

“No, I’m into guys. I’m glad I did a good job with my makeup, though,” she said, completely deadpan.

“What...woah, you’re a dude?”

“You’d never think to look at me, would you?” The guy looked horrified while Clint, who had heard this entire thing, came over and pressed a kiss to her lips.

“I have to go,” the guy said. As soon as he was gone, she and Clint burst out laughing.

“That’s my girl,” Clint smiled. A girl sat down next to Thor and smiled at him, sticking out her chest.

“Hi,” she said flirtatiously. “What’s your name?” Gwen and Lacey raised their eyebrows at each other, but did not interfere. Whatever was about to happen was sure to be entertaining.

“I am Thor Odinson of Asgard!” Thor boomed. The girl jumped at his loud voice, not having expected him to respond in that manner. However, she quickly recovered herself and continue.

“I’m Candace.”

“It is an honor to meet you, lady Candace!”

“Maybe later, after we’ve had a few, we can go back to my place. You might just get lucky,” she winked.

“I will not join you in your chambers, for I am romantically committed to the fair Gwen,” Thor said. “She is unmatched in beauty and feminine strength and there is no one more satisfying in the bedchamber!”

“OK, Thor,” Gwen said, blushing at the fact that he had just announced that she was good in bed to the entire bar. A couple guys turned and looked with sudden interest at Gwen. The girl just rolled her eyes at the situation and turned away. Lacey and Clint looked at each other and burst into laughter again. It was just one of the many fun nights the four of them frequently had at Three Roses.


	2. Sexy Times

It was 2am and Clint was closing Three Roses. Thor and Gwen had left an hour ago but Lacey had stayed behind. She and Clint both liked to go grocery shopping in the middle of the night - that was how they’d met, in fact - and it had become a tradition between them. Lacey figured she’d just help him close everything down and then they could go to the grocery store.  
While she was wiping down the bar, Clint came behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, kissing up her neck.

“Well, that’s distracting,” she said.

“You were distracting me all night by looking so hot, I thought maybe I’d return the favor,” he said against her neck.

“Well, you were distracting me with your arms all night, so we’re already even,” she teased. “Not that I mind this current distraction.” She turned around and wrapped her arms around his neck as he lowered his mouth to hers and kissed her hungrily. She exhaled and parted her lips to admit his tongue as he slid a hand down her back to brush his fingers over a sensitive spot on her lower spine that always drove her crazy. “Hey, that’s not fair,” she said, breaking the kiss. “You’re going to make me want to do naughty things to you before we’ve even left the bar.”

“That’s the idea,” he said sexily, starting to kiss a line down her neck. She undid the few buttons on his vest and slid it off of his shoulders, exposing his well-built torso, which her hands promptly began exploring.

“Here?” she asked as he lifted her up onto the bar and then jumped up after her, lowering himself on top of her and returning his mouth to her neck. 

“Is that cool?” he asked against her skin as his mouth moved across her collarbone.

“It’s...” she started, then gasped as his lips brushed over her cleavage. “Here, here is good.” With this encouragement, he hiked her skirt up a bit, moving aside any garments that were in the way. Clint knew he’d have to go in early tomorrow to clean the bar, but it was hard to think about that while Lacey was biting his collarbone.

*****

Thor and Gwen made it back to the apartment she shared with Lacey. As soon as they were inside, Thor’s mouth came down upon hers and he kissed her passionately, wrapping his strong arms around her waist to pull her to him. Gwen jumped up and wrapped her arms around his waist as their tongues tangled together, exploring each other’s mouths eagerly.

Thor walked them into her bedroom and Gwen pulled his t-shirt over his head before they collapsed onto the bed, rolling around while they kissed. Thor moved them so that he was on top of her and lowered his mouth to bite her earlobe, making her moan. He began kissing and nibbling down her neck while she dug her fingernails into his back and scratched up it. Thor growled against her skin and removed her red shirt, immediately moving his mouth to kiss across her cleavage. Gwen was breathing heavily at the feel of his lips and his beard on her skin, and lowered her hands to undo his jeans and pull them off his hips. He kicked them away and growled into her skin again as he felt the leather of her skirt against his stomach.

He quickly unhooked her bra and threw it away, replacing it with his hands and then moving his hands to pin her wrists to the bed while he teased her skin with his mouth. She lifted her hips to press against his and he growled once more before finally removing the remaining clothes between them.


	3. Serendipity

Lacey was working in Serendipity, the bakery she owned, when Clint came in. He let himself behind the counter and gave his girlfriend a sweet kiss, then helped himself to a cherry vanilla cupcake. A few minutes later, one of her regular customers came in - a twenty-something attractive guy with floppy brown hair that was always covered by a knit hat and a line of stubble around his jaw.

“Hey, Lacey,” he smiled.

“What’s up, David?”

“Not much, just craving a lemon bar.”

“I can help with that,” she said kindly, serving up a lemon bar, then swiping his card at the register.

“So, did you hire someone?” David asked, glancing at Clint.

“No...” Lacey answered, confused at first, then noticed where David was looking. “Oh, no. This is my boyfriend, Clint.”

“What’s up?” Clint asked with a mouth full of cupcake.

“And what a charmer he is,” Lacey said with a giggle, handing her boyfriend a napkin with which to clean up all the crumbs he was getting everywhere.

“Got it. Cool. Well, I’ll see you later,” David said, giving Clint a man-nod before leaving. Clint had finished his cupcake now and sat on the counter, swinging his legs back and forth.

“So, who was that?”

“Who, David? Just a regular customer. Why?” Then Lacey saw Clint’s face. “Are you jealous?”

“What? No. It’s just obvious that he’s totally into you.”

“Me? No.”

“Oh, come on, Lace. ‘Just craving a lemon bar’?”

“Psh, I don’t know what you’re talking about, my lemon bars are the bomb dot com.”

“First of all, 2006 called and they want their expression back. Secondly, men don’t just crave lemon bars at 10:00 on a Monday morning.”

“’Ooh, I’m Clint Barton, I represent the entire male gender because I’m so manly’,” Lacey teased in a poor imitation of his voice.

“Mature,” he said, poking her in the side and making her giggle.

“Stop that! You’re tickling me,” she said, running around the store.

“Make me,” Clint said, his eyes sparkling.

“Oh, like that’s mature,” she retorted. “Fine,” she added, grabbing him by the sides and pulling him closer, pressing her lips to his. He forgot about the tickling and wrapped a hand around her neck, pulling her closer as he kissed her back, but then remembered that he was on a mission and poked her in the side again. “Hey!” she protested.

“I win,” he said triumphantly.

“And yet, I could make you pay for all the cupcakes you eat. Who has the power now?” Clint, who hadn’t thought of this, pondered the information for a moment before saying,

“Winning a tickle war is totally worth the couple dollars I’d have to spend. I still win.”

“But...but...fine, you win. This time,” Lacey sputtered. Clint still had a way of making her flustered, but she loved it about him and knew that he found it adorable. A new customer came in, so Clint left so that Lacey could focus on her work, but he left with a smile on his face like he always did when he was with her.


	4. Travel Plans

Gwen woke up to find Thor’s arms and legs wrapped tightly around her, his head resting on top of hers. She tried to wriggle out of his tight embrace, but he just murmured in his sleep and held her even tighter.

“Thor,” she said quietly. “Thor, I can’t breathe. Thor!”

“What is it?” he awoke with a start. “I will protect you!”

“Thor, there’s nothing here. Were you dreaming about leading an army into battle again?” The look on his face said ‘yes.’”I just needed some air is all.”

“My apologies, my beautiful Gwen,” he said, grabbing a pillow and holding it tightly so that Gwen could breathe for a bit. This sight was so adorable that she rolled to face him and placed a kiss on his lips, her fingers playing in his long golden hair.

“I have a hotel to review in New Mexico in a few days,” she said softly. Gwen was a hotel critic and did a lot of travelling because of it, and Thor sometimes accompanied her. “Would you like to come?”

“New Mexico? I have some friends there.”

“Really? Well, you could come with me and visit them while you’re there, if you’d like.”

“I would be honored to accompany you on the journey, my dearest Gwen.”

“Good,” she smiled, playing with his hair until they fell asleep again.


	5. A Second Chernobyl

Clint appeared at Lacey's apartment after she had gotten off work on Tuesday. She was happy to see him, since she'd had a long day, and invited him in to cuddle with her. They sat on the couch and he took her into his amazing arms, pressing a kiss into her hair and enjoying her familiar smell of cake and roses. Her cat, Sinatra, snuggled onto her lap and was purring while she pet him. 

"What should we do tonight?" Clint asked.

"This," Lacey sighed. Clint turned her head so that he could glance at her lips.

"What about this?" he asked, kissing her gently.

"That works too," she smiled, leaaning in to capture his lips again. The kissing had just started to go from sweet to steamy when Clint's phone rang. He glanced at the caller ID and his brow furrowed in confusion. Lacey looked at him questioningly while he answered.

"Natasha?…oh...really. Well, I guess...no, it's no trouble...not at all...OK, see you then. Bye."

"Natasha as in your ex Natasha?" Lacey asked casually.

"Yeah. She's finally back from a year-long mission and needs somewhere to stay, so she asked if she can crash on my couch for a couple nights while she looks for a place."

"Oh..."

"What's oh?"

"Nothing."

"No, I know that face, that's the 'prepare for a second Chernobyl' face."

"You make it so hard to be passive-aggressive when you know my faces," she grumbled. "It's just...if one of my ex-boyfriends called me while I was with you and and I sounded excited to talk to him and agreed to let him stay here, wouldn't you be jealous?"

"Not really, since he'd be sleeping on the couch and I get to sleep in bed with you," he said with a smirk. Lacey sighed. It was hard to be real with him when he was being adorable like that.

"But none of my exes are more attractive than you," Lacey pointed out.

"Hun, what are you talking about? You think Natasha is prettier than you?"

"She IS. I saw an old picture of her that one time when I went through the ancient pictures on your phone. The red hair and the convenient flotation devices on her chest?"

"You have shiny brown hair that smells like cake batter. Natasha smells like the blood of her enemies. And I happen to like your boobs. Also, you can't break my spine with your bare hands, which is a quality I happen to find very sexy in a woman." Lacey couldn't help but crack a smile at this, but Clint could see that she was still a bit worried. "Lace, she's just a friend. You have nothing to worry about. You trust me, right?" 

"Of course, but I don't know if I can trust her..." 

"I think you are heavily overestimating my allure," he joked. 

"Never," she smiled, kissing him quickly on the lips. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't worry so much. Besides, I shouldn't try to prevent you from helping a friend in need." They put in a movie and cuddled back up, and Clint couldn't imagine how Lacey could think he'd want to be with anyone but her.


	6. New Mexico

Thor and Gwen got settled in their hotel room and took a nap. When they awoke, they ate dinner and got a couple of beers at a small sports bar near the hotel. They finished eating and ordered another round. A pair of women came in and looked around, then approached their table. 

"Thor?" a short brown-haired woman asked.

"Jane," Thor replied, his eyes widening a bit. Jane and her friend looked inquisitively at Gwen, waiting to be introduced. 

"I didn't know you were in town," Jane continued when Thor just sat there, giving Gwen another glance. This managed to get Thor's attention and he jumped as if he were waking up from a dream. 

"I am here with my lady, Gwen," he finally explained.

"I'm a hotel critic," Gwen explained further, "So Thor and I travel together a lot." For the first time during this interaction, Jane's friend spoke. 

"Can't say I blame you, big guy. It would be hard to pass up frequent hotel sex," she said to Thor. Jane gave Darcy a look and then blushed, mortified by her friend's bluntness. Gwen, however, took this in stride.

"It's one of the better aspects of my job."

"Way to go. I'm Darcy," she introduced. Gwen invited them to sit down and couldn't help but notice that Thor was staring at Jane. The girls ordered some beers. Darcy and Gwen chatted while Thor and Jane talked. When everyone had finished their drinks they parted ways - Gwen wanted to go back to the hotel because she was tired, and so they exchanged see-you-laters and the couple left. 

The next morning, they woke up and Gwen immediately rolled toward her boyfriend to snuggle into his chest and kiss him affectionately. They got up and ordered some breakfast room service, eating together and trying to figure out what they were going to do that day. 

“I have to do a little bit of work this morning, but we should go out for lunch and then look up something fun to do this afternoon,” Gwen said. 

“I am getting coffee with Jane this morning - I will ask her what activities may be done in this town,” Thor said. 

“You are?” Gwen asked, surprised. “You didn’t mention that last night. Well, it’s nice that you get to catch up with a friend,” she said, attempting to be a supportive girlfriend. Thor went to take a shower and came out a few minutes later with a towel that was way too small for him wrapped around his waist, his golden hair hanging in wet strands.

“So...how do you know Jane and Darcy?” she couldn’t help but ask while Thor was dressing. 

“When my father banished me from Asgard, I landed here, in New Mexico. Jane and her friends were kind to me and made my first time in Midgard more bearable.” 

“Well...that’s good,” Gwen said. “I’m glad you can see your friend again. I’ll be here working when you get back, and then we can get lunch and walk around or something.” 

Thor nodded and left to go meet Jane. Gwen worked for a while, then looked at the clock and realized it was already 3 in the afternoon - she had gotten focused on her work and didn’t pay attention to the time. However, Thor still wasn’t back yet. Where was he? She tried to call and text him but he didn’t answer, and after awhile she started to worry that something had happened to him. Finally, when it was almost five, he arrived back in the hotel room. 

“Where have you been? Why didn’t you answer your phone? I was worried!” Gwen said, tearing up and hugging him. 

“My apologies - I did not notice the time. I am sorry to cause you distress,” Thor said kindly, wrapping his arms around her. 

“You two must have been in a really intense conversation.” 

“She is one of the most fascinating maidens I have ever met,” he admitted. Gwen couldn’t help but notice that Thor had a huge smile on his face that didn’t go away - he hadn’t been like that in a while. She was starting to get a sinking feeling that Jane was more than just an acquaintance, but she put the thought out of her mind and got up on her toes to kiss Thor gently on the lips. 

“Come on - let’s go get dinner. I haven’t eaten since breakfast and I’m starving.” 

“Whatever you wish, my Gwen,” Thor said, giving her a smile, although she felt like his thoughts were elsewhere. However, she again shoved the idea aside and they went to go get some food.


	7. The Black Widow

Lacey knocked on Clint's door and although she shouldn't have been, she was surprised to see a woman behind the door. 

"You must be Natasha," Lacey said politely. "I'm Lacey. Where's Clint?" 

"He went to the store to pick up a few things. Would you like me to tell him you stopped by?"

"No, that's OK, I can wait," Lacey answered. He had gone to the store? He never went to the store during the day; he went at 2am like Lacey did. Natasha let her in and Lacey flopped down on the couch. 

"Would you like something to drink?" Natasha asked. Lacey tried not to be annoyed that Natasha was trying to play hostess in her boyfriend's apartment. 

"I'll get it," Lacey said pointedly. She went to the kitchen and grabbed a hard cider out of Clint's fridge. She sat back down on the couch and sipped it casually. What an awkward situation. 

"So, are you and Clint good friends?" Natasha asked.

"You could say that," Lacey joked. "Sorry, I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Lacey," she held out a hand. Natasha took it and shook, but there was no recognition on her face. Hadn't Clint mentioned her? Fortunately, Clint came in at that point to rescue them from the awkwardness. He put a small bag of groceries on the counter and came over to the girls.

"Hey, hun!" Clint came over to Lacey, wrapping an arm around her waist and pressing a quick kiss to her lips. “Oh, good, you two have met!” He emphasized this by grabbing the bottle of cider out of Lacey’s hand and taking a swig. 

“You didn’t tell me you’re seeing someone,” Natasha said as if she should know every detail of Clint’s life. Clint just shrugged and handed Lacey back her cider. 

“I’m doing a lot more than seeing her, if you know what I mean,” Clint said with a smirk, and Lacey slapped him in the chest, blushing furiously. However, she was glad that Clint was setting the record straight, since Natasha had seemed a little too cozy in his apartment. “So, is anyone else starving? We should all go out to dinner.” 

“Sounds good to me,” Lacey said, and Natasha nodded. They walked to a Chinese restaurant and ate. While they were there, Natasha updated Clint on what all had happened during her mission. Clint hadn’t been on a mission in a while and clearly missed the action, his eyes lighting up a bit as she told stories. Lacey just sat there awkwardly, having no idea what any of it was about. She felt a bit left out of the conversation, but she was glad Clint was happy. When they finished eating, Clint insisted on paying for all three of them and then they walked back. They sat on the couch, Clint between the two women, while a screwball comedy played on TV. 

“You spending the night?” Clint asked Lacey, his arm already around her shoulders. He gave her a quick kiss on the neck. Natasha looked away uncomfortably. 

“I can’t, Gwen’s out of town so she can’t feed Sinatra for me. I’d better get back, actually.” 

“I’ll walk you down,” Clint said. Natasha and Lacey exchanged awkward ‘nice to meet yous’ and the redhead stayed put while Clint walked his girlfriend down to her car. When they got there, he pulled her close and kissed her passionately, slipping his tongue into her mouth. Her hands ran up his arms and around his neck, pulling him closer. “Goodnight, hun. See you tomorrow.” 

Lacey went back to her apartment smiling - clearly she had nothing to worry about with this Natasha thing. Clint was still as affectionate as ever.


	8. Drinks with Darcy

Thor spent the next couple days mostly with Jane. Gwen was working most of that time and went out with Darcy one time, but she was worried that Thor was falling back in love with his old flame. 

“Something on your mind?” Darcy asked finally while the two girls were getting happy hour martinis one afternoon. 

“No, I’m fine,” Gwen said. 

“OK, your lying needs some serious work.” 

Gwen sighed and debated about whether she should tell Darcy how she felt, but she figured, what harm could it do? She was leaving town soon anyway. 

“It’s just…I feel like Thor…he’s spending a lot of time with Jane…” 

“Woah, Jane is a lot of things, but she’s not a homewrecker.” 

“No, no! I’m not saying that at all. I just…feel like he’s been a little distant since we got here.” 

“Maybe it’s the debilitating lack of anything to do in this town.” 

“He seems to love it here, but he hasn’t really wanted to spend much time…with me.” 

“Well, to be honest, Jane has kind of moved on with her life. She was a little mopey after Thor left, but she got over it and worked on her science. I don’t think she’s really interested in him any more…although he does have a pretty sweet bod.” 

“Trust me, I know,” Gwen winked. The girls laughed and finished their drinks, then promised to keep in touch. Gwen returned to the hotel and started packing; they were supposed to leave the next morning. Thor returned shortly after. He sat on the bed and started watching TV. 

“Are you going to pack? We’re leaving tomorrow morning,” she reminded him. 

“Actually, I meant to discuss that with you. I wish to stay.” 

“What do you mean? You want to stay here?” 

“I have enjoyed returning to this town and wish to spend more time with my friends.” 

“You mean you want to spend more time with Jane?” 

“Well, yes. She is my friend.” 

“I’m sorry…let me get this straight. I invited you, my boyfriend, to come on this trip with me, and you don’t spend any time with me while we’re here, we don’t have any sex during the trip, and you spend the entire time with another woman, and now you want to stay here. Are we breaking up?” 

“I do not understand. Are you angry?” 

“Yes, I’m angry, Thor!” Gwen took a deep breath after this outburst, calming herself before she continued. “Thor, I want you to be completely honest with me. This is not an easy thing to ask, and I want you to be completely honest, OK?” 

“Whatever you wish, Gwen.”

“Are you in love with Jane?” Thor thought for a moment, which Gwen already took as a bad sign.

“I do not know,” he finally said. 

“Well, how about this: I’ll leave here tomorrow without a boyfriend and you stay here and figure it out.” With that, she continued shoving things into her bag angrily. 

“Would you like me to sleep elsewhere tonight?” 

“Yes, Thor. Do that.” With that, he left to go heaven knows where (probably to Jane, she figured), and she collapsed on the bed and burst into tears.


	9. Serafina

“Hey, Lacey,” David said, entering the bakery again. 

“How’s it going?” Before she could ask him if he wanted his usual lemon bar, a girl followed David in. Lacey’s eyes widened – she had seen her before. Clint, who had been sent to bring a box of cupcake wrappers into the back room, now came out and stopped in his tracks, munching on a croissant. 

“Clint?” the girl asked in a screechy voice. She flipped her long, sleek dark hair over her shoulder and smiled at him. 

“Serafina…” Clint said with horror. Serafina was a girl who had dated several of his friends and cheated on all of them, then set her sights on Clint himself. He found her obnoxious and despicable. His eyes shifted and he shoved Lacey forward. “Have you met my girlfriend?” 

“Hi, Lacey. We met at the Stark wedding, I believe,” Lacey said politely. 

“Oh, I guess I don’t remember,” Serafina said, and Lacey was beginning to wonder if the decibel and pitch of the girl’s voice would break her glass display case. 

“You were at the Stark wedding extravaganza?” David interjected. “Their cake was the best.” 

“This one made it,” Clint said proudly, kissing Lacey on the cheek. 

“I should have known only you could make a masterpiece like that,” David said, and Lacey blushed from the flattery. 

“Lemon bar?” she asked, changing the subject. 

“You know it,” David replied with a charming smile. Lacey pulled the lemon bars out of the case to wrap one up. “You want anything, Sera?” he asked. 

“I’m good,” she said, clearly distracted by Clint, who was looking more and more uncomfortable by the second. David ignored her and said to Lacey, “Throw one in for my sister, too.” 

“Oh, you guys are brother and sister?” Lacey asked. This was a very odd development. 

“That’s what they tell me,” David joked. Serafina had now gotten bored with the situation and was pretending to text on her phone. Lacey rang them up and then they left, each of them looking a bit annoyed when Clint leaned over to give Lacey a quick kiss on the lips.


	10. Rescued

Gwen and Lacey went to get drinks at Three Roses – Gwen needed some booze after her break-up with Thor. So they had dressed up – Lacey in a light blue dress and Gwen in a red one – and hit their favorite bar. Clint served them up their favorites and they sipped them. Lacey kept trying to cheer her friend up, but Gwen wasn’t much in the mood for merriment. After she finished her drink, she said she’d rather just go home. It was Lacey’s turn to pay, so she told Gwen not to worry about it. She offered to go home with Gwen, but the latter insisted that Lacey stay and enjoy herself. 

Gwen left Three Roses and started walking back to her place. The girls’ apartment wasn’t super close to the bar, but she felt like a walk anyway. She walked a few blocks, turned, walked a few more blocks, turned again. A little while later, she realized she was lost. She had to have taken a wrong turn somewhere. She didn’t recognize where she was. She looked around, trying to find a street sign or landmark she might recognize, when all of a sudden she felt something cold and metal against her temple. 

“Hands up,” a gruff voice said. Terrified she lifted her hands, trembling. “Give me your wallet,” he continued, and she lowered a hand into her purse to grab the wallet. She pulled it out and held it up, and he grabbed it. He lowered the gun and he walked around her, still pointing it at her. “Don’t move,” he said, then lowered the gun so that he could open the wallet and look inside. “This all you got?” 

“I gave you my wallet,” she said. This prompted him to point the gun at her again. She raised her hands again. She just wanted to go home. 

“Give me your phone,” the guy said. She reached into her purse to pull out her phone. However, all of a sudden, some sort of strings came out of nowhere, stuck to the guy’s gun, and pulled it away. “What the—” the guy asked, not knowing how to react. The same strings stretched out and grabbed the wallet. Gwen looked up and around, confused. She couldn’t see anything. All of a sudden, a body came and grabbed her, and before she knew it she was flying through the air. 

She screamed in surprise, then opened her eyes and looked around. She saw her rescuer – he was wearing a blue and red skin-tight suit with a mask that covered his whole head, big gray eyes on it that he could see out of. A black spider was on his chest. Through the fabric of his costume she could feel muscles. They were hanging from some silky strings that were attached to the side of a building and connected in his hand. As she held tightly to him, he shot strings out of alternating wrists, attaching to a new building each time as they flew a few blocks away. Finally, they landed on a rooftop and she let go of him. 

“Thank you,” she said in awe as he handed her wallet to her. “Who are you?” 

“Just your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man,” he replied breezily. 

“Spider-Man, huh? Well…do you know the city pretty well?” 

“Like the back of my hand.” 

“Maybe you could point me in the right direction so I can get back?” She gave him the address and he showed her in the right direction and she walked toward the edge of the rooftop to climb down the ladder. 

“Hey,” Spider-Man said, and she turned around. “Want a lift?” 

“Love one,” she answered, and walked back over to him. She wrapped her arms around him again and they took off, and in a few minutes they were standing in front of her door. She looked at him curiously. “Thanks again,” she said. She wanted to know who this mysterious rescuer was, but clearly he wanted his identity a secret since he was wearing a mask. Without a word, he shot a web up and disappeared. She couldn’t sleep, so when Lacey came home a bit later, she was wide awake to tell her best friend about the elusive Spider-Man.


	11. Towels

Clint answered the door shirtless and let Lacey in. She couldn’t help but run her hands over her boyfriend’s muscular chest while he kissed her, and since Natasha was nowhere in sight, she slid her hands around Clint’s neck and slipped her tongue into his mouth. He sighed and pulled her in tighter, when Natasha’s voice made them break apart. 

“Hey, Clint, do you have a hair…dryer?” she asked, realizing she’d interrupted a make out session. Lacey turned to look and saw Natasha wrapped in a rather small towel, her hair wet and her huge boobs almost popping the terrycloth open. She raised her eyebrows at the redhead and glanced at Clint, who definitely did not seem fazed by the fact that Natasha was almost naked in front of him.

“Nope, sorry,” he answered. Natasha just shrugged and walked to the kitchen, the towel still around her. She started making coffee, opening cupboards to get the necessary items. Lacey and Clint sat on the couch, and Lacey whispered, 

“Aren’t you going to go put on a shirt?” 

“Why?”

“Because I don’t want to be the only one with clothes on around here.” 

“You can take them off. I wouldn’t complain,” he said as if this were a totally reasonable conclusion. She just gave him a look. “What? It’s hot in here.” 

“It’s just…she’s ogling you.” 

“Are you still worried about that? Hun, I told you, there’s no contest,” he said, planting a kiss on her lips. 

“But, she’s wearing nothing but a towel…” 

“I have an extra towel for you to put on if it’ll make you feel better. Or no towel. I vote you just skip the towel.” 

“Clint…” 

“What? Lace, no girl in a towel is going to steal me away from you. Besides, it’s not like I haven’t seen it before.” Lacey stared at him with her lips pressed together angrily. 

“I’m not really sure why you thought that was an appropriate thing to say,” she snapped, standing up and walking toward the door. Clint stood up. 

“Lace, wait, don’t leave,” he said, gently grabbing her arm and turning her toward him. She just crossed her arms and clenched her jaw. “I’m sorry, that was a dumb thing to say. Look, I’ll put on a shirt, and if you want, I’ll talk to Natasha about the towel thing. I don’t want you to be mad at me.” 

“If you don’t want me to be mad at you, then don’t be an idiot,” she said, a bit immaturely, but it felt a little good. 

“I try, but we both know you’re the smart one around here,” he said with a sheepish smile. “Hey, why don’t you sleep over tonight?” 

“Only if you promise to prove it to me that you find me more attractive than her,” she said wickedly. 

“Fine, fine,” Clint said, as if this were a huge sacrifice, although his eyes were sparkling. Then he went into his bedroom to grab a shirt, which Lacey knew she would be removing later when they were alone.


	12. Peter the Photographer

Gwen sat in the diner she was eating lunch at and waited for her food, looking at the calendar on her phone to figure out when her next hotel stay was scheduled. The waitress brought a plate and put it down in front of her. 

“Do you need anything else?” 

“No, I’m fine,” Gwen said without looking up. The waitress had walked away before she had looked up at her food, and when she did, she realized she had the wrong plate. “Wait, this isn’t what I ordered,” she said, but the waitress had gone. 

“Did you have the bacon cheeseburger with fries?” a voice said, and Gwen turned to see a cute, slightly awkward guy with brown hair standing next to her. 

“Yeah,” she said. “This must be yours,” she said, and they traded plates. “Hey, do I know you? Your voice sounds…familiar,” she said. The guy just looked at her awkwardly and shook his head. “Sorry, it probably sounds like I’m hitting on you. Well, enjoy your lunch,” she said lamely, blushing. 

“You too.” He went back to his place, which was, incidentally, the booth next to hers, and he sat in the opposite side, so they were facing each other. They both started eating their lunches, avoiding eye contact so things wouldn’t be awkward, but this made them both even more uncomfortable. Finally, the guy said, “Hey…if this isn’t too weird…would you like to join me?” 

“Sure,” Gwen said, and brought her plate and glad over to his table, sitting down across from him. “I’m Gwen.” 

“I’m Peter,” he responded. 

“It’s nice to meet you.” 

“It’s nice to meet you too. So…what do you do, Gwen?” 

“I’m a hotel critic.” 

“Really? That’s great. You must like travelling, then.” 

“I love it! Seeing new places is so great, I’m never bored. What do you do?” 

“I’m a photographer,” he said with a shy smile. 

“That’s so cool! Anything I might have seen?” 

“Oh, no, I don’t think so.” 

“Well, that’s awesome. I’d love to see some of your work. Photography is a beautiful art.” 

“Thank you,” he said. “It’s a big city, but…if I see you again I’ll have to show you some.” 

“I’d like that,” Gwen said. She pulled out a business card and handed it to him. “If you want, here’s my contact info. Maybe we can hang out and I can see some of your pictures. If you’re ever interested, the paper I work for always likes talented photographers.” 

“Thanks! I’ll keep that in mind,” he said, taking her card. They finished and each paid for their meals, then went their separate ways, but Gwen was glad to have met someone new, she hadn’t made a new friend in a while and Peter seemed sweet.


	13. Sexy Pants

Lacey crawled into bed with Clint and snuggled up to him, breathing in his scent of mountains and aftershave. He adjusted his head to kiss her, sweetly at first, then escalating in passion. He started kissing her neck, sliding a hand down her back to brush over her lower spine. She slipped her hands under his shirt and ran her hands over his chest and abs, then quickly removed the t-shirt over his head and grazed her teeth over his collarbone. She could feel his excitement growing against her leg. 

Clint moved his head back down to her skin, gently kissing down her sternum and over her cleavage, one hand sliding up to stroke Lacey’s chest through her tank top. She moaned as he teased her spine again, the other hand still on her chest, and he quickly got the tank top out of the way; no bra needed to be removed, since she never wore one to sleep in. Rolling halfway on top of her, Clint continued kissing the soft skin on her upper chest while she grabbed him by the ass to press his hips against hers. He moaned softly into her skin and allowed her to remove his boxers as his lips continued their path down her body. 

“Lace…if I tell you something…will you promise not to think it’s weird?” he asked against her skin between kisses. 

“No,” she gasped. 

“Fine, fine…I’m going to tell you anyway…” he continued kissing and murmuring into her skin. “I find your pajama pants…incredibly…sexy.” With this, he rubbed his hands up and down her thighs. 

“Really? These ones? They have Marvin the Martian on them.” 

“All of them. Especially Marvin the Martian.” He paused for a moment, then laughed against her skin. “OK, even I think that sounded weird,” he laughed again, and the vibration of his laugh made Lacey moan. Fortunately, Clint now quickly removed the titillating pajama pants and the last remaining garment that stood in his way.


	14. Insecure

Two nights later, Lacey and Gwen were having drinks at Three Roses. Lacey was glad to see that Gwen seemed to be cheering up a bit after the Thor breakup, but she still had a sad look about her. Just as the girls had started out their second round of drinks, three guys walked in. Gwen glanced at them, then smiled and waved. One of the guys waved back, and Lacey looked at her friend inquisitively. 

“How do you know guys I don’t know about?” Lacey teased. 

“I just met that guy at the diner a couple days ago.” The three guys went and sat at a table and two of them ordered drinks, then Peter came to the bar and sat next to Gwen. 

“Hi,” he said. 

“Hey, Peter. This is Lacey.” The two introduced people greeted one another. “Aren’t you getting a drink?” 

“No, I’m driving my friends around,” he informed her. “How are you?”

“I’m good,” she replied. He noticed the sadness in her voice. 

“Well, you look beautiful.” 

“Thank you.” 

“If you don’t mind me asking, are you alright? You seem a little...sad.” 

“Yeah…yeah, sorry if I’m not much fun.” 

“No, you can talk to me if you want.” 

“It’s just…I went through a breakup recently. I don’t want to bore you with it.” 

“No, you’re not boring me. What happened?” 

“I think he fell in love with someone else. I don’t know. It was all a little confusing. I’m still not completely sure what happened.” 

“Well, if it makes you feel better, I think he’s missing out.” 

“Thanks, Peter. Can I buy you a soda or anything?” 

“No, no, I’m fine. I’d better go back over to my friends, but it was nice to see you. I still have your card, maybe I’ll call you sometime soon.” 

“That would be great. See you, Peter.” Gwen updated Lacey on how she had met Peter. “Hey, I think I’m going to go outside for a second, get some fresh air. It’s a bit stuffy in here. Lacey offered to go with her, but Gwen said she would just be a minute, and went outside alone. 

When she was standing outside the Three Roses, she heard shouting in the alley around the corner, so she went and peeked around. She saw a large man holding a smaller man by the front of his shirt, pushing him against the wall angrily. 

“You said you’d have the money to me today, where is it?” 

“I’m sorry, I don’t have it,” the smaller guy whimpered. “I’ll get it as soon as I can.” 

“That ain’t soon enough—” the guy started, but he couldn’t finish because some sticky webbing came out of the shadows and stuck the guy’s mouth shut. Next, Spider-Man came sliding down the side of a building on a string, landed, and punched the guy in the face. He was out cold. This prompted the smaller guy to run away with a faint ‘thank you.’   
“Impressive,” Gwen said, coming out around the corner. 

“Hello,” Spider-Man said. There was something about his voice…

“We meet again,” Gwen said. 

“Do you need another ride home?” 

“No, I’m not leaving yet; I just came out for some air.” 

“Well, in that case, I should get going.” That voice. It was Peter’s voice. 

“You do that, Spider-Man. See you around,” she said. Then she went back inside. Peter wasn’t in there anymore. He came back in a few minutes later and Gwen nodded at him. She didn’t say a word. 

A few minutes later, Natasha came in. She was wearing a very tight, short, low-cut black dress. 

“Hey, Natasha!” Clint smiled. She leaned over the bar at him and ordered a drink, and he began making it while chatting with her. Suddenly, Lacey felt frumpy by comparison in her modestly-cut vintage style dress. Although Clint hadn’t given her very much reason to feel insecure, she felt it anyway all of a sudden. She tried to get Clint’s attention, but the two of them seemed to be exchanging anecdotes about past S.H.I.E.L.D. missions. Lacey also observed several men in the bar giving Natasha admiring looks and Clint jealous ones. Why didn’t guys ever seem jealous of Clint when he was talking to her? Lacey and Gwen finished their drinks and Gwen glanced over at her friend. 

“What’s wrong?” Gwen could always tell when her best friend wasn’t feeling great. 

“Nothing. I’m kind of feeling ready to go home.” 

“No, there’s no nothing, tell me what’s wrong.” 

“It’s just…I look dowdy in this dress.” 

“What? You look gorgeous! What’s the matter with you? Oh…it’s the ginger bitch, isn’t it? There’s no way Clint is still into her. He’s treating her like a bro. Trust me.” 

“I don’t know. I’m getting kind of tired. If you want, you can stay.” Gwen looked at her friend for a minute, but was frankly pretty ready to leave too. 

“Nah. Let’s go.” 

Lacey got Clint’s attention to get their check but he said it was on him as usual. It was a system – he gave Lacey free drinks, she gave him free bakery items. 

“Are you really leaving? It’s still early,” Clint said. 

“Yeah, I’m just tired all of a sudden.” 

“You OK, hun?” 

“Yeah, I’m fine. I’ll see you tomorrow,” she said. He gave her a kiss on the cheek over the bar, then went right back into his conversation with Natasha. Gwen and Lacey took a cab home and it wasn’t until Lacey got into her room that she let a few tears escape.


	15. Hypothetical Question

The door of Serendipity Bakery opened and admitted David. He smiled when Lacey turned around and walked up to the counter. David looked around for a moment, but seeing no Clint, he relaxed and ordered his usual lemon bar. 

“Hey, did you do something different with your hair?” David asked. 

“Not really, other than do nothing with it,” Lacey blushed. 

“Well, it looks good. I mean, it looks good the other way, too.” 

“Thank you, David.” 

“So, where’s the boyfriend?” 

“Oh, he’s out and about somewhere. He has a house guest from out of town staying with him right now, so he’s probably out with her.” 

“Her?” 

“Yeah, his ex.” 

“Yikes. Sorry, I shouldn’t say that…” 

“No, it’s pretty yikes. She’s…” Lacey paused for a moment while David waited for her to continue. “David, can I ask you a hypothetical question? From a guy’s point of view?” 

“Uh, sure.” 

“If you had a girlfriend…say, one a lot like me…and your ex was this Russian girl with a great body and red hair and could crush your throat with her thighs…and she wanted to stay at your place for an indeterminate amount of time…would you, maybe, like…realize how lame your girlfriend is and want to go back to the ex?” 

“She can crush someone’s throat with her thighs? That’s terrifying,” he started, then remembered the actual question. “Not a chance.” 

“Really? Because, I mean, I’m just some little bakery owner and she’s like this badass bombshell, I mean why wouldn’t he still like her?” 

“Well, he’s with you for a reason. Besides, the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach,” he pointed out. 

“Thanks. Sorry, I didn’t mean to get all personal.” 

“No worries. I don’t think you have anything to be worried about. I’m sure he knows how lucky he is to have a girlfriend like you.” 

“Thanks. Hey, the lemon bars are on the house today.” 

“Oh, you don’t have to—”

“I insist.” 

“Thanks. I’ll see you soon.” 

“See you soon, David.” 

Lacey tried not to feel guilty about ever-so-slightly enjoying David’s compliments.


	16. Photographs

Gwen was sitting in her apartment when her phone rang. Seeing a number she didn’t recognize, she answered it on a whim. 

“Is this Gwen?” a familiar voice asked. 

“Yes,” she said, trying not to let on that she knew.

“This is Peter. I was wondering if you wanted to get together to see my pictures.” 

“I’d love to,” she said, quite honestly. Really, she just wanted to see him again, but she was genuinely interested in his art as well. 

“Are you available this evening?” 

“I think I can work you in,” she said nonchalantly. “How about we meet at Beans & Things at seven?” 

“That’s perfect.” 

At seven they met at the coffee shop and ordered some coffee, and then Peter pulled out a folder of photographs he had taken. Not only were all of them fantastic, but they were all of Spider-Man, which Gwen found amusing, although she hadn’t mentioned to Peter that she was in on his little secret. 

“These are really good. So, you know Spider-Man?”

“Oh…yeah, we’ve met a few times.” 

“Really?” 

“He seems like a great guy.” 

“Yeah…he does,” Gwen said with a sly smile. They continued talking for hours before Gwen decided she’d better get back to her apartment. They made an agreement to see each other again soon.


	17. Communication

The same night, Clint and Lacey went to dinner. 

“Natasha’s mission sounds so cool – she got to kick ass and use all these awesome weapons.” Clint had been talking about this for the past hour. Nonstop. Lacey had barely been able to get a word in edgewise, and even then only a couple times. Her patience was getting pretty thin. She knew he loved the adventure and kind of wished he got more missions these days, but she really wished he’d change the subject. She interrupted him to ask,

“Hey, could we maybe…talk about something else?” He looked a little confused. 

“Sorry, hun. I hope I wasn’t boring you too much. It’s just that I remember back in the day when she and I would go on missions and kick ass—” At this point, Lacey interrupted again, having gotten fed up. She slapped the table. Clint jumped and a few people glanced over. 

“Then why don’t you go do that again, and you and she will be the perfect couple and the perfect badasses and do all the cool stuff you like so much better than being here with me. I’m sorry I’m not as cool as her and I can’t even shoot a gun and I don’t have big bouncy boobs and thighs of steel. Don’t let me hold you back from the girlfriend and life you wish you had,” she said angrily, getting up and storming out, leaving Clint completely dumfounded. He left some cash on the table and tried to go catch her, but she was gone, probably having disappeared into a cab. He immediately went to her place, knocking on the door. She answered it and crossed her arms over her chest, but let him in, flopping down on the couch. He sat down next to her. 

“Are you breaking up with me?” he asked. 

“No.” This made him sigh with relief. 

“Are you mad at me?” 

“Yes.” 

“Why? I’m not saying I didn’t do something wrong…just that I’m dumb and can’t figure out what it is.” 

“When you were talking about Natasha and her mission tonight - which you did for an entire hour, by the way – you were happier and more excited than I’ve seen you in a long time. I feel like I’m too…boring for you. Like you’d rather be out risking your life with Natasha than be here with me.” 

“No…I didn’t mean to make you feel like that. Lace, yeah, sometimes I miss working for S.H.I.E.L.D. all the time, but there’s a reason I stopped. Have I ever told you why?” She shook her head no. “One time, I was supposed to train this kid…he was so talented and passionate about what he did…on our first mission together, he jumped in front of me and took a bullet that was meant for me. He…he didn’t make it…” Clint was almost in tears. 

“You can’t blame yourself,” Lacey said softly, lacing her fingers through his and pressing a kiss to his cheek. 

“I should have done a better job protecting him. Anyway, I decided to take a break from the whole thing, and I just sort of never went back. Fury knows that if he gets really desperate, he can call me, but he also knows not to bug me if the others can handle it. I’ve been living vicariously through Natasha lately, remembering what it was like to save the world every day, but don’t think that I want to go back. At least not right now. If I do decide to get back into it, you’ll be the first to know, I promise,” Clint said, kissing her on the forehead. “Besides, you’re adventure enough for me.” 

“Right…you get in on all the exciting action of testing cake flavors.” 

“Hey, there are guys that would kill for that job. Besides, even getting you to talk to me when we first met was quite a challenge,” he pointed out. 

“That’s because you were being an ass.” 

“Fine, fine,” he conceded. He kissed Lacey soundly on the lips, then pressed a few kisses into the side of her neck. “You’re a lot more exciting than you give yourself credit for,” he whispered, then immediately stood up, threw her over his shoulder, and carried his giggling girlfriend into the bedroom.


	18. Spider-Man Revealed

Gwen decided to take a cab home from meeting with her boss – it was too cold outside and she was too tired to walk home. It had started to snow, just barely, but the cab driver was going pretty slowly in case the road was icy. The cab slid over the icy patch and spun a bit out of control, and Gwen held onto the sides of the cab to steady herself. Suddenly, the car crashed slowly into a billboard pole. Gwen gasped for breath and determined that the driver was okay; they airbag deployed and they weren’t hurt, but they needed some help getting out of the car. Spider-Man appeared out of seemingly nowhere. 

“Need a hand?” 

“It’ll be a little tricky to get out of here,” the driver admitted. Slowly, Spider-Man helped them out of the car. 

“Are you OK?” he asked the driver. 

“Yeah, I’m fine. Thanks, Spider-Man,” the driver said. The hero nodded as the driver walked away contently, leaving his cab there for the time being. 

“Thanks, Spidey,” Gwen said with a coy smile. 

“I was in the area and thought I should help out,” he said modestly. 

“Well, that’s convenient, because I was just wishing I would run into you,” she replied flirtatiously. 

“Why would you want to do that?” 

“So that I can do this,” Gwen started, rolling the stretchy mask up until it uncovered his mouth. She pressed her lips to his and he kissed her back a bit hesitantly at first, then put his hands around her waist and pulled her closer, the kiss escalating in passion. While they were still kissing, she pulled the mask all the way off his head, holding it in her fist as she wrapped her arms around his neck, but the sudden exposure of his face made him break the kiss abruptly. He looked into her eyes nervously. “I knew it was you,” she almost whispered, and he seemed to relax a bit, then slowly lowered his mouth back down to hers. Still kissing her, he released a hand to shoot out a web, which he grabbed onto and slid up, one arm still around her waist, until they were on a rooftop. Snowflakes fell around them. When they needed to stop for air, Gwen broke the kiss. 

“Wow,” was all Peter could say. They held onto each other for warmth and because they enjoyed the feel of each other until they had caught their breath and could go right back to where they’d left off.


	19. Invaders of Lacey's Space

Lacey was surprised when Natasha came into the bakery the next morning. She had on tight jeans and a low-cut t-shirt that showed ample cleavage. 

“Hi,” Lacey said cautiously. 

“I was told to try some cake,” Natasha said semi-sarcastically. 

“What flavor?”

“German chocolate,” she answered. Lacey got it ready and gave it to the other girl, accepting the cash Natasha held out. Trying to figure out what Natasha was doing in her bakery talking to her and eating her cake, she decided to just be polite. 

“Clint’s been really enjoying your stories about your work,” she said. “He talks about it a lot.” 

“He wants to be a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent again,” Natasha replied. 

“Oh, I don’t know about that. I think part of him misses it, but he quit for a reason.” 

“As much as he denies it, he wants to come back. We could use him – he’s a great assassin. But he won’t leave you, even if it means saving the world.” 

“I’m the reason he won’t go back to S.H.I.E.L.D.?” 

“He said something along those lines. It’s a shame that he won’t come back, he has a unique skill.” Lacey didn’t say anything; was she really holding Clint back? That was the last thing she ever wanted to do. “I’d better be going. Thanks for the cake,” Natasha said. As soon as she was gone, Lacey teared up a bit. Maybe she should let Clint do what he really wanted. 

After wiping her eyes and cleaning up the counter a bit, David and Serafina came in. She served them some lemon bars. Immediately, Serafina began screeching. 

“Where’s Clint today?” 

“I don’t know. He hasn’t come in today so far,” Lacey shrugged. 

“Huh. Well, I’m sure he will soon,” she squealed, as if she didn’t believe at all that he’d come in soon. “Does he have a relative in town?” 

“No, why?” Lacey asked, confused. 

“I saw him at the Laundromat with a gorgeous girl with red hair. They looked close. I figured she must be his sister or cousin.” 

“Oh, that’s his ex, Natasha. They used to work together and are old friends, she’s staying with him while she’s in town.” 

“His ex, really?” Serafina said shrilly, her eyes wide. “I certainly wouldn’t want my boyfriend walking around with his ex, especially if she was as pretty as her.” 

“Well, I happen to trust Clint,” Lacey snapped. 

“If you say so. David, I’m going to go get a table at the diner across the street. Meet me over there when you’re done here.” With that, Serafina turned and left, her long dark hair swishing across her back. Lacey looked a little pale and David noticed. 

“Look, don’t listen to her. She’s had a crush on Clint for ages and she’s just jealous that he has someone wonderful that he cares about.” 

“Thanks,” Lacey said sincerely. “Have a good lunch.” David nodded and left.


	20. Driving Peter Crazy

Gwen and Peter dated for a couple weeks. One night, they’d just come back from a nice dinner and had ended up at Peter’s place. They entered his apartment and sat on the couch, cuddling and chatting about various topics. Finally, Peter stopped Gwen’s mouth by turning her head and kissing her on the lips. 

“I just want you to know that I feel really lucky to be dating someone so beautiful,” he said. Gwen responded by bringing her lips back up to his, kissing him passionately. Her hands reached down to touch his, her fingers lacing through his, and he sighed into her mouth. Interested in what the reaction meant, Gwen released his lips and lifted one of his hands to place a kiss into his palm, another one on his knuckles. Finally, she wrapped her lips around his index finger, sucking on it for a moment, then releasing it. 

This got a gasp from Peter and he captured her mouth again, wrapping his arms around her and lowering her down to the couch until he was laying on top of her. She grabbed his hand again and kissed lines down his fingers until he was breathing quite heavily. While she was doing this, he lowered his lips to her neck, kissing a line down it, then back up, ending by kissing her just below the earlobe. When this got him a gasp, he took her earlobe into his mouth, sucking and nibbling on it. Since they were both nearly trembling with desire at this point, Peter scooped her up into his arms and carried her to his bedroom, carelessly tossing away some shirts he’d left on his bed after he’d lowered her down onto it. 

He reached under her to unzip her dress, kissing down her neck again all the while, then slid it off her shoulders, slowly kissing newly revealed skin along her chest until he reached the top of her bra. He slid the dress off the rest of the way as he began lavishing her cleavage with kisses. While this was going on, she took the opportunity to undo the buttons of his blue shirt, sliding it off his shoulders, then getting to work on his pants. When she had gotten the belt and zipper undone, he kicked them off and snapped her bra open, tossing it away and replacing it with his hands. 

Gwen enjoyed this sensation for a moment, moaning, then snatched up one of his hands again and started sucking on the fingers, his other hand still on her chest. Peter started moaning and removed both his hands from her. 

“You’re driving me crazy,” he gasped. 

“That’s the point,” she said wickedly. 

“Not yet,” he said, then smirked as he got an idea. Using one hand to pin her wrists to the headboard, he used his other hand to shoot webs from his wrist to stick her wrists there, so she couldn’t move them. Then he returned his hands and mouth to her chest, working his way down her body until he felt the need to remove the last remaining scraps of fabric between them.


	21. Natasha is Kicked Out

Things were awkward between Lacey and Clint for the next few days. She had two women feeding off her insecurities and she felt like Clint was drifting away from her. One day they were watching a movie and he asked,

“Anything wrong, hun?” 

“No, why?” she responded. 

“You just seem a little quiet is all.” 

“I’m fine.” 

“Tell me what’s wrong.” 

“Really, it’s nothing. I’m sorry, I must just be tired.” Suddenly, Natasha came back from whatever she had been doing. “I should get going,” Lacey said seemingly out of nowhere. She stood up and Clint looked at her confusedly. 

“Uh…OK…” she gave him a half-hearted, sad kiss goodnight and left. Clint stared at the door, baffled, when Natasha flopped down on the couch next to him. 

“Good, she’s gone,” she said. 

“What do you mean? You don’t like Lacey?” Clint asked. 

“She was keeping me from doing this,” Natasha said, and slowly leaned toward Clint as if to kiss him. He stood up and took several steps away. 

“Woah, Natasha, what are you doing? I have a girlfriend.” 

“Clint, you don’t need to pretend. I know you miss me and miss working for S.H.I.E.L.D.” 

“Um, no, I don’t.” 

“Really? You’re trying to tell me you don’t miss the action and adventure? You don’t miss…our adventures?” she said smugly. 

“Working for S.H.I.E.L.D. was great. Fury knows he can count on me in a pinch. And who knows, maybe I’ll get back to it someday, but I’m happy where I am right now. I love Lacey, and I want to spend as much time as possible with her.” 

“What’s so special about her?” Natasha asked rolling her eyes. Clint smiled and thought for a moment, then finally answered: 

“The fact that she’s willing to be with me when she deserves so much better. Look, Natasha…I wanted to help you out, but I think it would be best if you got a hotel. I don’t feel comfortable with you staying here anymore.” 

“You’re kicking me out?” 

“Yeah, I am,” he said. With that, she angrily began packing up her stuff, ranting about who knows what, and was gone within 15 minutes.


	22. Mutual

Gwen and Peter continued dating for a few weeks, but things weren’t really working out the way they’d hoped. One night, they were eating dinner in awkward silence before Gwen finally got up the courage to say something. 

“This isn’t really working, is it?” Peter sighed with relief. 

“I thought it was just me,” he said. 

“No, it’s both of us. I mean…if I can be honest with you, I don’t think I’m entirely over Thor yet.” 

“You know, I think I might still be in love with Mary Jane.” 

“Well, we’re a mess,” Gwen laughed. They gave each other comforting smiles. “You’re a wonderful guy, Peter. I hope MJ sees how lucky she is.” 

“Thank you. Thor too. He’s so fortunate to have someone like you who cares about him.” 

“Thanks. So…friends?” 

“Definitely.” They finished dinner, now relieved, and able to chat freely now that they had gotten rid of the awkwardness between them.


	23. Friends

When David came into the bakery the next day, Lacey felt guilty for being relieved. She was feeling pretty insecure about what Natasha and Serafina had said, not to mention the fact that while Clint was being sweet, he was completely oblivious to any of it. Frankly, David was sweet and his attention was flattering and made her feel like she wasn’t completely worthless. 

“Lemon bar?” Lacey asked. 

“You know me well.” When she had boxed it up for him and he’d paid, she came around the counter to chat with him without the counter in the way. 

“How’s Serafina?” she asked, only to be polite because she honestly didn’t care. 

“She’s good. Sorry about her the other day. She really needs to get over the fact that Clint isn’t into her.” 

“I’m honestly not sure if I really know who or what Clint’s into anymore…” Lacey admitted. 

“Hey, look…if he doesn’t see what he has, he doesn’t deserve you,” David said. Lacey teared up and David awkwardly pulled her into a hug, figuring she needed some comforting. She lifted her head to wipe her tears away and apologize to him, but he wiped them away first. While her face was still cupped in his hands, he leaned his head down to kiss her, being unable to help himself. Lacey almost let him, and that scared her. She gasped and took a step back. 

“I’m sorry. David, I hope I didn’t give you the wrong impression. Clint is still my boyfriend. Even if he wasn’t, I love him. I hope I didn’t lead you on…” 

“No, you didn’t. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have tried to…I’m an idiot. Serafina was telling me that you and Clint were close to breaking up, and she knows I like you…I shouldn’t have listened to her. She needs to get a grip. Anyway, I’m sorry about that.” 

“It’s fine. Thank you for being here for me.” 

“I’d better go. Make sure to save a lemon bar for me tomorrow.” 

“I always do,” she smiled, and he left to go give his bitchy sister a piece of his mind.


	24. Thor's Apology

Gwen was sitting on her couch that morning with her laptop making reservations for her next hotel stay when there was a knock on her door. She couldn’t figure out who would be there, but she figured maybe Clint needed in or something, so she opened the door, but was surprised when she found Thor standing there instead. 

“Thor?” 

“Gwen, I wish to speak with you. I beg that you would grant me admittance into your home.” 

“Um…sure…” she said, still in shock. She let him in and they sat on the couch, facing each other. 

“Gwen, I have been a fool. I possessed a woman of unparalleled beauty, virtue, and worthiness, but I left her behind to pursue someone who no longer felt anything for me. I confess that the moment you left New Mexico, I felt a pang at your absence that remained during the entirety of our separation. Seeing Jane again made me nostalgic; she reminded me of feelings I had in the past, but in truth, I no longer felt them when I was near her. I thought only of you for weeks, but I could not come and ask you to accept me back after the way I had treated you. It was only when Jane saw my misery and encouraged me to do everything in my power to win you again that I experienced hope. You have my heart and my love, and I beg you to accept them. Please, Gwen, forgive me.” She did not answer for a few moments, still taking everything in, and Thor finally spoke again, being unable to handle the silence. “My Gwen, please tell me I have a chance.” 

With this request, she answered by throwing her arms around him and pressing her lips to his. They kissed each other with all the passion and love they felt, and kept kissing until they couldn’t breathe. Then, they clung to each other, forehead-to-forehead, their breaths still kissing when their lips couldn’t any longer. 

“Thor, of course I forgive you. I love you and missed you so much. I only have one thing to ask of you,” she said when they had finally caught their breath a little bit. Thor began kissing her neck.

“Anything, my love,” he said into her skin.

“Take me into my bedroom and make up for all the time we lost,” she whispered. With that, Thor scooped her up into his massive arms and complied with this request, laying her down on her bed after he’d kicked the door closed. He lowered himself on top of her and returned his mouth to hers, slipping his tongue into her mouth as he kissed her hungrily. She wasted no time in getting his shirt off, pulling it over his head as his mouth moved to her earlobe, biting down on it. She dug her nails into his back and he growled appreciatively against her neck, his hips pressing into hers, and she could feel his excitement through their jeans. He promptly made sure their clothes were discarded as he made good on his promise to make up for lost time.


	25. Awww

Lacey wanted to go see Clint after work, but she was confused and hurt and insecure and really just wanted to be alone, so she went home. She went into Gwen’s room to see if she was there and found she and Thor naked and asleep in each other’s arms, the sheet covering their essential areas. Smiling that they had gotten back together, Lacey tiptoed out and softly closed the door, finally deciding on just eating some dinner, taking a shower, and going to sleep herself. A few times Clint texted that evening, but Lacey didn’t answer them. She got in bed and burst into tears, not knowing what to do. She didn’t want to hold Clint back from what he wanted, no matter how much she wanted to be with him. She cried until she finally got to sleep, but the next couple hours were very restless. Finally, she just got up at 1:30. She needed to see him. 

Knocking on his door when she got there around 2, he answered the door in sweat pants and no shirt, his hair a mess, and he looked incredibly disoriented. She’d woken him up. 

“Lace? Have you been crying?” She burst into tears again and stuck her face into his bare chest, wrapping her arms around his waist. “Hey, hey, what’s wrong, hun? I tried to get a hold of you earlier but you never answered, I was worried about you.” He brought her over to the couch and wrapped his arms around her while they sat there. “What’s going on?” 

She lifted her head to answer, sniffling and wiping away tears, when she suddenly realized that they were on the couch. 

“Where’s Natasha?” she asked. 

“Oh, I kicked her out,” he said. “She tried to kiss me, and I didn’t feel cool with her staying here if she wasn’t going to respect our relationship.” This made Lacey start crying harder, the fact that he was so sweet and chose her over Natasha. “Hey, hun. Lace. You need to tell me what’s wrong, I don’t like seeing you like this,” he said, pressing a kiss into her hair. She managed to compose herself a bit and rested her head on his shoulder, his arm around her, while she drew on his chest with a finger. 

“Clint, David came into the bakery today and he tried to kiss me but I didn’t let him.” 

“OK…” Clint said, not really understanding why she was so upset about that when she didn’t do anything wrong. 

“But Clint, I almost let him because I didn’t know if you still wanted me,” she sobbed. “I’m so sorry, I was feeling so insecure because these two gorgeous girls were all over you and Natasha said you wanted to go back to S.H.I.E.L.D. and that I was holding you back—”

“And you believed her? Lace, you need to trust me. I told you I’m not going back to S.H.I.E.L.D. right now. I like my life the way it is. And what is this about two girls being all over me? You’re the only girl I care about.” 

“I know…it’s just that Natasha always looked so sexy and Serafina is such a flirt and they’re both so pretty.” 

“You’re prettier, Lace. At least to me.” He kissed her on the lips for the first time during this interaction, one of his hands wrapping behind her neck to pull her closer. As soon as he was kissing her, Lacey suddenly had no idea why she had worried so much. That kiss told her all she needed to know. He finally released her lips and kissed her on the forehead before he stood up. 

“Come on,” he said, taking her hand and pulling her up, and leading her into the bedroom. They got into his bed and he came up behind her, wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her into his chest. “Lace,” he whispered, “do you know what I thought the first time I saw you?” 

“No. You never told me.” 

“You were in the grocery store at 2am and I saw you in the peanut butter aisle. You had on your Christmas pajama pants in the middle of summer and I thought, ‘if I don’t talk to that girl, I’m going to regret it for the rest of the night.’ Then I overheard you talking to yourself. You picked up the peanut butter and jelly in the same jar and said, ‘Peanut butter and jelly in one jar: whoever thought of that doesn’t get enough credit for being the world’s best economist.’ And I just thought that was so funny.” 

“And then you insulted me at checkout,” she teased. 

“I was trying to be one of those pick-up artist guys, but I didn’t realize that you were too special to fall for that. I was such a goob. But I went back every night that week at 2am hoping to run into you again.” 

“You did?” 

“Yeah.” She smiled to herself at this, then turned around to smile at him. “Lace, I love you. I don’t know if I’ve told you that yet or not. I feel like I have, but it might just be that I’ve felt it for so long that it never occurred to me to say it. But in case I haven’t, I wanted to say it now.” 

“I love you too. So much,” she smiled, kissing him as he pulled her as close to him as he could get her. 

“Are you tired?” he asked when they broke the kiss. 

“Not really,” she answered. 

“Good,” he said, moving his mouth to her neck and brushing his hand over her lower spine. She gasped at the sudden sensation and ran her hands over his incredibly sexy arms, over his chest, his back, his ass, while his mouth made a path down her neck. He quickly removed her t-shirt, knowing that since she was in pajamas she wouldn’t have a bra on. Lacey turned them over so that she was on top of him, then licked a line down his neck and bit his collarbone. He exhaled and brushed his fingers over the spot on her spine again, making her moan. She kissed her way down his chest, down his stomach, then quickly removed his sweatpants and underwear in one motion. She was about to move her head even lower when he grabbed her by the shoulders and mustered all his willpower to stop her as he turned them over so that he was hovering above her. 

“Nope,” he said, pressing a kiss to her lips, then moving his head down to begin kissing across her stomach while his hands stroked her chest. 

“No?” she asked, a bit surprised. 

“That’s not how this is working,” he said into her skin, his voice making her tremble. “I’m showing you how much more beautiful you are than any other girl.” 

“But…” 

“No. Not until I’ve proven it to you,” he said. He then proceeded to show her exactly what he meant in multiple ways before he finally allowed himself to finalize the sentiment once and for all.


	26. Happy Again

The next morning, Gwen was happily sore from spending the entire previous day with her godlike boyfriend. She was also wrapped tightly in his strong arms, breathing in his familiar smell of rain, metal, and shampoo. She could barely move, but she didn’t care. She kissed him on the chest and he awoke, capturing her mouth. Her hands slid up his chest and her fingers tangled in his hair. Finally, he broke the kiss and started kissing her neck. 

“What shall we do together today, my love?” he asked between kisses. 

“I don’t know, I don’t care as long as we’re spending time together. How about we take a nice long shower, have some breakfast, and go to the aquarium? I haven’t been in years.” 

“Whatever you wish, my love,” he said, his mouth now brushing over her cleavage, moving the sheet away from the rest of her chest. “But I have an idea of what we should do first,” he growled into her skin, pulling the sheet over his head as he kissed down her body. Several minutes later, he scooped up a very happy Gwen and set her down in the bathroom, turning on the warm water before they both stepped into the shower. Once they had pulled the curtain closed, Thor wasted no time in capturing her lips in a steamy kiss, running his hands along her body until she was practically a puddle in his arms. His great strength proved to be a benefit during that shower when the intimate activities began. About an hour later, they had finally managed to get clean and dressed. They made a big breakfast and ate it, then continued on to the aquarium. Gwen and Thor couldn’t remember ever being happier.


	27. Poor Peter

Peter heard a girl scream. Running as quickly as he could, he climbed a building and changed, pulling the mask over his face. A young woman with long dark hair was screaming her head off while a large, mangy-looking stray dog was sniffing her. Thinking it was a bit odd for her to be so terrified about it, Spider-Man decided to rescue her anyway – a damsel in distress was a damsel in distress. Swooping down on a string of web, he snatched her up and cringed while she screamed in his ear all the way until their feet were safely planted on a rooftop. 

“You saved me!” the girl screeched dramatically. Spider-Man shrugged. “What’s your name?” she asked, batting her mascara-caked eyelashes. 

“I’m just your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man,” he recited his usual line. 

“I’m Serafina,” she said.

**Author's Note:**

> The Gwen in this story isn't Gwen Stacy, but it's a funny coincidence that I have an original character named Gwen who has a brief relationship with Peter Parker. I just thought I'd better put this in so that you all know. :)


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